Navigating the confusing world of merchant accounts can be stressful and difficult if you don't know exactly what you need and don't fully understand the terminology utilized by merchant account companies. Merchant account pricing schemes, along with the various credit card fees associated with merchant accounts, can be complicated.

Being aware of the different credit card fees, as well as the types of pricing schemes offered, can enable you to better spot a good deal and choose the merchant account provider that is right for your business.

It's a Balancing Act Between Business and FamilyYour business isn't the only thing that you have to focus on in your life, your family is important too, and trying to balance your time between the two can be difficult. Here are a few ways that you can have a healthy work-life balance when children are involved in the equation.

Running a business with your life partner can be an exciting thing, however, there are a few things to keep in mind if you want to maintain a healthy personal and business relationship. Here's what President, Founder & Inspirational Leader,Dema Barakat and CEO / MBA, Danoush Khairkhah,at Velocity Merchant Services | Credit CardProcessing, husband and wife team, strongly suggest you do to "keep it all together."

Fall is often the busiest season for businesses selling consumer products and services thanks to it aligning with the back-to-school season. Consumers often equate the start of the school year with the start of a new year, and that means there's tons of shopping. From new product debuts to new fall fashion arrivals, there are a ton of shopping opportunities that consumers want to take advantage of during the back-to-school season. But if your store isn't prepared to handle the crowd and their payments, you'll miss out on a potentially lucrative season for your business. Thus, it's critical to have a strategy for handling the back-to-school season crowd if you want to leverage this busy time of year. Here's how you can get it done:

Think Your Business Is Too Small for a POS? Think Again!The Clover point-of-sale (POS) system is a hugely convenient and helpful piece of technology. While it functions as a cash register, it can do so much more. Better yet, it's adaptable to businesses of all sizes.

If your industry requires a customer waiver, you can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of paperwork required to do business. Those who run tattoo parlors and other high-liability companies can't afford to be sloppy in this area, no matter how time-consuming it is. In addition to simply checking out your customer, you need signed copies of the waiver, copies of the driver's license and other forms safely stored for easy access. Otherwise, you can be exposed to serious legal liability. Now Clover offers an application that allows you to streamline this record keeping so that everything can be done in one step.

Running and growing a business is a balancing act. Not only must you manage clients, vendors, employees, and the million "unexpected" problems that inevitably crop up -- you must do all that while maintaining positive cash flow.

Marketing is an essential part of growing your business. However, even the most cost-effective marketing campaigns can be prohibitively expensive for a bootstrapped small business. Fortunately, there are marketing ideas you can try on your own in order to jumpstart your business.

If you are a business owner, you may wonder how you can increase your sales in order to make your business not only thrive -- but soar! Getting your business name on Google is one of the best ways to have a positive effect on your bottom line. Having an online presence can benefit your business in many ways and help you utilize technology in ways you may never have imagined.

Having an online presence can increase your sales, make your business name more recognizable and boost your revenue. As a savvy business owner, it is likely that you already invest in merchant services and offer credit card processing as a form of payment. Therefore, you are already using technology in a small way for your company's success. Some of the ways Google can dramatically help your business grow include:

Google has the resources to help you with every aspect of your online presence. It can assist you in creating a custom-made website, and provide you with all the analytics, tools, programs and workshops to help boost the performance of your website.

When someone does a search online, Google results are at the top of the list. People generally won't take the time to scroll through more than one or two pages of results; therefore, it is imperative that your business is at the top of the results.

Having a website enables customers or clients to purchase from your business 24/7. Often, a client or customer will decide after visiting your brick-and-mortar store and others that the product or service you provide is the best choice. A Google presence enables them to go ahead and make the purchase without having to make a special trip back to your store. If your business is not within their daily route, they may not make the effort. An online presence captures this sale.

Social media makes the term "word-of-mouth" into more of a global term instead of just your community. People praise products and services via social media and this type of advertisement is not only free, it is invaluable!

If your business doesn't have an online presence with Google, it isn't as likely to succeed as other businesses that are similar to yours. This is because when consumers need a product or service, the first place they explore is online to see what is offered. Having a Google presence is one of the smartest ways to enable your business to thrive and have longevity in the global marketplace.